Port of San Julian. Winter Quarters. August 24, 1520
We are finally leaving San Julian. After five months, the fleet is moving on to the Rio de Santa Cruz, which Captain Serrano discovered.
There are several reasons for this change. First, the river is abundant with food and wood. We can replenish our supplies before continuing on our voyage. Also, since Carvalho's failed attack on the Indian village, there has been constant trouble between the native people and us.
But there are two things we will leave behind in this wilderness: Cartegena and his collaborator Bernard Calmette, one of the fleet's chaplains. They will be marooned here in this land. Cartegena continued to try and depose Magellan even after his mutiny was defeated when we first arrived here. This time at least, I didn't have to warn the Admiral. Opinion of the San Antonio's former captain had fallen so low that the crewmen he was trying to subvert betrayed him to Magellan.
The Captain General was still reluctant to execute a captain appointed by the King and yet he could not forgive him again and risk him being able to raise a successful rebellion when we were at sea.
I cannot decide which is the more terrible punishment, death or marooning.
Despite all that he has done, I don't think anyone in the fleet can help, but regret what has to be done. I doubt I will ever hear of Juan de Cartegena again.
Port of San Julian. Winter Quarters. April 2, 1520.
I couldn't sleep that night. The tension was so thick in the air you could taste it.
Finally, during the second watch, I could no longer remain still and went up on deck. The night was inky black with only the pale illumination of the stars casting their rays on the scenery before me.
I looked out at the dim lights of the five other ships. After a few moments, I saw a boat leave the Concepcion and watched in silence as the thirty or so men rowed to the San Antonio. It seemed almost like a ghost ship, eerie and quiet. No alarm was raised as they boarded her. All was still.
I stood in the bitter cold night dread filling me...when I heard a faint cry of pain. It came from the direction of the boarded ship. Shortly thereafter, I saw the black figures reboard the skiff and row back to the Concepcion with only that one small, almost unheard, cry to speak as what had happened. But standing there in the darkness I knew. The San Antonio had been taken!
The mutiny had begun...and, as Fate would have it, I was the only one who could warn Magellan.
Unable to take a boat by myself, I realized my only option was to swim to the Trinidad to deliver my warning in person. But the sight of the icy cold, black water lapping against the ship chilled me to the core. But I had no choice!
I began to raise myself up over the railing when a hand jerked me back. "Release me!" I said angrily.
"I'm afraid that is not possible, Blas." I looked back in sudden fear. There stood my uncle, arms crossed standing behind the two men holding me back. "I can't allow you to warn Magellan of our little mutiny."
-----
I was dragged unceremoniously blow deck and tied in the hold of the Victoria.
Luis followed. Ordering the sailors back above deck, he came to where I was being held and stared at me coldly, "Was it you who warned that pig Magellan of our plans in the Portuguese lands? And the Canaries?"
I replied hotly. "My duty was to warn the Admiral of the fleet of the plot against him!"
Luis's cold eyes burned into me. "You have a duty to your family!" he hissed. "You are just like Diego! Always putting your own interest ahead of everything else!"
"What family?" I shot back. "When did you ever treat me like family! I was nothing to you!" I stopped unable to go on for a moment. "Why! I don't understand! Was it revenge against my father for leaving Granada so long ago?" I looked for a reaction in the shadows. There was none. "Why punish me for a wrong you think my father committed!"
Luis stood and turned away. "I'll deal with you later," he threatened. He called to the other men. "Tie his feet and gag him. I don't want him moving about and causing trouble today. The crew will be skittish enough with all of this without him making a scene." Then he was gone.
I was left alone in the dark with only rats to keep me company. Clearly the mutineers planned to move against the Trinidad at dawn and I had to escape before then.
-----
Enveloped in darkness, I wiggled about as best I could, searching for anything to cut the ropes and hoping the glowing eyes scurrying around me wouldn't bite.
As I struggled in the darkness, my hand brushed against something hard and cold. A ballast stone. It was cold as ice and yet seemed to have sharp, jagged edge. I knew I was lucky to find this much and maneuvered the stone in my hand to where I cold rub it against the ropes restraining me.
The progress was slow and tedious. I couldn't rush for with one wrong move I could drop the stone and, in this darkness, I might never find it again. After what seemed an eternity, I finally was able to snap the ropes and they loosened just a bit. I had managed to slice through a few fibers, but the rope still was tight about my wrists. I sighed in frustration.
It was going to be a very long night.
-----
Hours later, I still struggled with my bonds. The constant friction had rubbed my wrists raw and they ached from my attempts at freedom. I could feel blood occasionally drip from wounds inflicted by my activities.
Time was growing short. I pressed on as the growing light made my surroundings more discernable. At any moment I expected to hear the sound of cannons and the shouts of men.
With a final painful tug, I broke the remaining strands. I pulled the gag from my mouth and began working on the ropes around my legs. When I succeeded, I found I was still so stiff from my long hours of confinement that I could barely move.
I dragged myself to the hold ladder and carefully climbed up. The ship was very quiet, but there was an air of expectancy.
The men on the deck stood at the rail with their backs to me looking out over the port. Not wasting any time, I climbed quietly out of the hold and went to the opposite side of the ship. Catching hold of a rope, I tried to slide quietly into the water, but my stiff limbs staged a mutiny of their own. A few feet above the water, I slipped and fell in with a loud splash. The water was like a cold, suffocating blanket. I fought my way to the surface and came up sputtering. Looking up at the ship I saw a face peering down at me. It was Roderigo Gallego, a Castilian and one of the men I got along with.
"What was that?" a voice called out.
I put my finger to my lips, hoping he wouldn't give me away. He seemed to nod slightly and answered the voice, "Nada, a fish."
I sighed with relief and swam away from the ship. The morning fog covered my movements, but also obscured my target, the Trinidad. The water was colder than I thought. I felt like I had been turned to ice except for my wounded wrists that burned as if they were on fire. My muscles, already stiff from my long confinement, cramped as I struggled onward, swimming carefully so not to cause alarm.
I swam on! Where was the Trinidad! I paused a moment to look around, but could not see for the mist. I had no choice but to continue on my previous heading. The freezing water was sapping my strength and making it hard to think. I pushed the thoughts of panic to the back of my mind, but was beginning to fear that I had missed the ship. Suddenly, something in front of me loomed large in the mist. The old ship never looked as inviting as it did now. I caught hold of her anchor cable, gathered my strength and courage for a moment and pulled myself aboard.
"Ho there. What are you doing here!" a voice called. I dropped down onto the deck and looked up at Espinosa.
Just my luck! Well, I thought, if I'm going to be arrested might as well be the headman who does it. Using what strength I had left, I pulled myself to my feet and spoke. "I must speak to the Admiral at once. All of our lives are in danger!"
The Captain of the guard looked at me as if I were mad. He probably would have thrown me into the brig if fate hadn't stepped in.
"What goes on there, Espinosa?" another voice called, but this one I knew. Magellan. He stood with Enrique on the landing by his cabin door, in the same place I had been introduced to him.
"Nothing, Captain," Espinosa replied. "Just a half drowned rat that decided to come aboard. I'll take care of it, Sir."
By then, my teeth were chattering so badly that I would have found it difficult to protest, but fortunately, I didn't have too. I saw Enrique turn to Magellan and say something that was too low to be heard by anyone else.
Magellan nodded slightly. "I wish to speak with this man, now, in my quarters."
The master-at-arms looked puzzled but obeyed. Moments later, I was in the Captain's cabin, very aware that I was dripping water everywhere and desperately trying to keep my teeth from chattering too loudly.
I must have looked a sight and Magellan took pity on me. "Enrique, fetch a blanket or we will never hear what is going on." Enrique complied and when my shivers began to come under control, the Captain General spoke again. "Now Senhor...what was so urgent that you risk drowning and freezing to tell me?"
I looked up. "Mutiny!"
Magellan's eyes went cold and hard. "Cartegena!"
I relied though it was a statement, not a question. "I believe so, Admiral. Last night I saw a longboat depart the Concepcion and her crew boarded the San Antonio. A short time later, I heard what sounded like a cry of pain. Other than that, all was silent and the boat returned to the Concepcion. I would have warned you then, sir, but I was held captive..."
I was interrupted by someone bursting through the door of the captain's chambers. "Captain, there is trouble!"
Magellan immediately stood up. "Enrique, find this man some dry clothes before he catches his death. Then both of you join me on deck!" With that, he was gone.
I looked at Enrique in surprise, but he was completely unfazed. "I think we are about the same size."
-----
Moments later we rejoined Magellan and Espinosa. They were standing with the young man who had burst into the cabin, listening to a shaken crewman.
The crewman, who I came to know later as Antón de Noya, was speaking hurriedly as we approached. "...as we came alongside the San Antonio, a sailor called out to us not to come nearer. We were told Quesada, Cartegena and their men had boarded the San Antonio. There was only a light watch on duty and most of the crew was asleep when they came. The deck watch was easily intimidated and no alarm was sounded. We were told Quesada and Cartegena went directly to Mesquita's cabin and burst in with their swords drawn. He was then dragged on deck where the whole crew was being assembled." Antón paused briefly, looking to Magellan. "Cartegena listed their grievances against you, Captain, and asked the men to help him 'restore order to the fleet'. Captain Mesquita, of course, flatly refused. For his defiance he was shackled and placed under guard."
As Antón spoke, it was clear he was considerably distressed. "The ship's master, Juan de Elorriaga, was awakened and rushed onto the deck. Learning that Captain Mesquita had been made captive, he confronted the mutineers. 'I demand in the name of God and the King Charles that you return to your ship!' he said. 'This is not the time to be going among the ships with armed men. I also demand that you release our Captain!' Elorriaga then summoned the mate, Diego Hernández, and ordered him to gather the men, arm them, and free their captain."
Antón hesitated for a moment, almost seeming to fear the words he uttered next. "Quesada was enraged. 'Must we be thwarted by this idiot?' he cried. He then drew his knife and stabbed the master again and again!" That must have been the source of the cry I heard, I thought. I shivered, though I was no longer suffering from the cold. "Quesada left him lying on the deck. There was no one in the crew who dared to oppose his fury."
The men around me rumbled with disbelief and rage, but Magellan stood unshaken, the calm eye in the center of a hurricane. The wretched crewman continued his dark tale when the commotion around him subsided. "The mate, Hernández, was taken back to the Concepcion in chains. The mutineers then asked the navigator, Juan Rodriguez de Mafra, to take command but he refused and was shackled below deck. Cartegena was forced to send his skiff for the Concepcion's master, Juan Sebastian del Cano, whose first order was to prepare all the ship's guns to be fired."
Magellan listened solemnly to the sailor's story. "We need to know exactly where we stand." He said, deep in thought. "Cristovão," Magellan turned to the one who had interrupted us in the cabin, "take the skiff to each of the ships and ask to whom they are loyal. Don't take any chances and report back as soon as you can."
"Yes, Captain."
-----
As the sun burned the morning mist away, we watched the skiff row to each ship.
I took a step closer to Magellan and spoke in a low voice. "Captain, I know the Victoria is commanded by a mutineer, but the crew doesn't respect him. They only fear him and his fellow conspirators, Cartegena and Quesada. Given the chance, I believe they would follow you again, sir."
Magellan did not turn, but replied in the same manner. "She does carry the largest number of foreigners. I'm sure they would rather have stayed out of this trouble if they could." The Admiral looked at my ship and thought for a long time. I barely hear heard him when he finally spoke again, as if he was confirming a decision he had come to. "That is where we must strike."
-----
The skiff returned soon after with important news.
Cristovão spoke grimly. "When we approached the San Antonio, Quesada answered our hail. When I asked where his loyalties lay, he replied that he owed his loyalty to King Charles. The reply from Mendoza on the Victoria and Cartegena on the Concepcion were much the same. But, Captain Serrano seemed confused by our question and replied that he was loyal to you, Captain."
"I didn't think Serrano would side with these mutineers," Magellan said, deep in thought. "He has been a seaman long enough to not become involved with fleet politics."
"But the Santiago won't be of much help to us," Cristovão put in. "What can we do, Captain?"
Magellan turned away. "We wait."
"But Captain..!" Cristovão started to protest but Magellan silenced him with a commanding glance.
"They clearly have the advantage and we must wait for an opportunity to strike back!" The Admiral sighed and shook his head. "Do nothing, for now." With that, Magellan retired to his quarters, leaving us to wonder what kind of opportunity could save us.
As I thought about this, I heard footsteps behind me and a friendly greeting. "Hello, Mendoza. What are you doing here?" Antonio stepped up beside me.
I sighed. "Antonio, mi amigo, for a spy, you don't know much!"
He gave me a puzzled look in reply.
-----
Later in the day, a longboat from the San Antonio pulled up beside the Trinidad with a message from the mutineers. It listed their grievances, stating both the officers and the men had been mistreated and endured hardships under Magellan's command. To ensure this 'mistreatment' didn't continue, Cartegena, Luis and Quesada had taken control of the San Antonio, Concepcion and Victoria. It closed saying the captains would acknowledge Magellan's leadership if he would consult them about all matters concerning the voyage and the fleet.
Magellan's reply was simple. "Tell your captains that if they will come to the Trinidad and discuss this properly, I will do what is right. Return to them and tell them this."
-----
It was late in the afternoon when the boat returned to us with the reply to the Captain's offer.
Magellan called Cristovão, Espinosa, a few others and I to his cabin to hear it. "They, of course, refuse to come aboard my ship. They say they fear more 'mistreatment'. They propose we meet aboard the San Antonio."
"A trap, of course," Espinosa put in.
"Undoubtedly, but these correspondences have demonstrated that despite their advantage, they fear attacking us."
Cristovão laughed harshly. "The Spanish courts might forgive their mutiny if they only remove you from command, Captain, but they would certainly be executed if they attacked the two ships that sided with you."
"And their indecision," Magellan said with resolve, "gives us a chance to turn the tables on them."
We all looked at the Admiral incredulously, but as we listened, new hope dawned.
-----
I watched from my concealment as the tired, hungry crew of the longboat, still waiting alongside for a reply, was invited aboard for a hot meal and a cup of wine. While they were eating, Magellan had the boat moved out of sight of the other vessels.
Espinosa and one of his soldiers went out in the skiff to hand deliver a message to my uncle Luis. Their two oarsmen had to pull hard against the last of the ebb tide, but finally pulled up along side the Victoria.
I watched nervously as Luis refused to permit them aboard, but Espinosa seemed to say something, probably a taunt, that changed his mind. He didn't even object when the other soldier came aboard with the captain of the guard.
Espinosa handed Luis the letter. As he read, my uncle seemed to begin to smile, as if what the Admiral proposed was preposterous. The smile turned into a laugh as he handed the message back to Espinosa.
It was his last laugh.
Espinosa extended his hand as if to take it, but grasped Luis's hair, pulled back his head and stabbed him in the throat. He slumped to the deck, lifeless.
My uncle was dead.
Despite the time that has passed since I began writing this, I still don't understand my feelings about this. I had more reason than anyone to want Luis de Mendoza dead. He never showed me anything but cruelty. But, I find no joy in his death. Nor do I feel sorrow. I am empty.
-----
As everything happened on the deck of the Victoria, Duarte Barbosa and fifteen heavily armed men climbed out of the San Antonio's longboat and up onto the ship. They had rowed under the cover of darkness to attack the Victoria secretly.
As I predicted, the crew didn't oppose them when Barbosa led his men aboard. Espinosa, Barbosa and their men raised Magellan's flag and shouted, "Long live the King and death to traitors.
The Victoria was ours.
That night, when the tide again turned to ebb, her anchors were brought up to short stays and she came along side the Trinidad.
Magellan's three ships now blocked the exit to the sea. The San Antonio and Concepcion were trapped.
Despite the dark, the two ships had not failed to notice the Victoria aligning herself with us. Their only hope was to slip past the blockade.
Magellan doubled the watch for the rest of the night and prepared for the battle he expected in the morning.
To our surprise, at dawn we saw the San Antonio drifting helplessly towards us.
Quesada, hoping for a quick getaway, had ordered two of the San Antonio's anchors to be raised, trusting the remaining one to hold the ship. It did not and as the ship came along side the Trinidad, Quesada could be seen strutting on the deck. Dressed from head to toe in armor he held a lance and shield, barking orders to crewmen that no longer obeyed him.
Magellan ordered the Trinidad's guns to fire a few rounds of heavy shot into the San Antonio's hull, one of which, we later learned, passed right between the legs of a startled Rodriguez de Mafra. Fortunately, he wasn't hurt.
When the San Antonio was close enough, grappling cables were thrown and an armed boarding party leaped onto her deck. "For whom do you stand!" they shouted.
The weary crew immediately answered, "For King Charles and Magellan!"
Captain Mesquita was released and Quesada and his henchmen were quickly rounded up and put if irons.
Immediately after, the Admiral sent forty armed men in a longboat to the Concepcion. The fate of the Victoria and San Antonio had not gone unnoticed. When asked where their loyalties were, the crew responded that they were with Magellan.
The crestfallen Juan de Cartegena was taken back to the Trinidad where he, Quesada, Coca, Cano and their followers were shackled below deck.
The mutiny was over, but the day was not.
-----
Magellan immediately ordered a court martial to be held aboard the Trinidad. I was shocked when my uncle's body was brought aboard and propped up to stand trial with the rest.
Alvaro de Mesquita presided and he wanted revenge. Justice was swift and severe. Forty men were condemned to death. Among them were two ship captains, a shipmaster and most of the fleet's administrative officers.
That very day, my uncle's body was taken ashore, decapitated and quartered.
But Magellan knew he could not execute a fifth of his men, yet an example had to be made. The admiral decided only one would be executed. Gaspar Quesada, the man who had stabbed Juan de Eloriaga.
The sentence was to be carried out on April 7, but even Espinosa didn't want to be the executioner. In the end Luis Molino, Quesada's own squire, carried out the judgment in exchange for his own life.
The whole crew had to witness it. Quesada was beheaded with a sword, as his rank entitled, and his body was quartered. The two dismembered captains' parts were spitted on a pole as a warning against further rebellion.
Cartegena, though convicted of mutiny with the rest, was confined to quarters as Magellan was still reluctant to execute a man who the King had appointed to the fleet. The other mutineers have been forced to do all the hard labor this winter as their punishment.
-----
The same night that the mutiny ended and judgments passed, I lay down to sleep for the first time in two days on the deck of the Trinidad.
-----
To my surprise, in the coming days, I was not ordered to return to the Victoria and remained aboard the Trinidad. I was confused, but welcomed the company of Antonio and even Enrique. I also spent some time with the fleet's astrologer and astronomer, Andrés de San Martín. I didn't think much of his horoscopes, but his knowledge of the stars and there use in navigation was impressive.
It was only after Quesada's execution that I learned why I was allowed to stay. Returning to the ship after the grim spectacle, I was surprised when Enrique told me Magellan wished to see me in his cabin.
I knocked on his door with some trepidation. A voice called for me to enter and I went inside. Magellan was sitting at a table examining a chart. He looked up as I entered and motioned for me to sit in a chair across from him.
He stared at me for a moment as I shifted uncomfortably in the comfortable seat. "I must admit, Senhor Mendoza, I have had a bit of a dilemma concerning you. You have shown yourself to be a loyal seaman, putting your oath to me before your family."
"Did Antonio tell you that I was related to Captain Mendoza also, Admiral?" I asked, a bit irritated with my friend.
"He didn't have too," Magellan laughed slightly. "It was for that reason I assigned you to the Victoria, though I wouldn't have thought you to be my ally." He looked at me questioningly.
"Why do you help me?"
An obvious question, but I wasn't sure of the answer myself. "There was no love lost between me and my uncle. All my life his shadow has followed every action I have taken. Maybe I couldn't allow him to control my destiny any longer. But more importantly, I swore an oath of loyalty to you sir, and perhaps..." I paused, wondering why I spoke so freely, "perhaps you remind me of someone. Someone I lost who meant everything to me," a little shaken, I turned away from Captain General.
Magellan nodded as if he understood this confused answer. "Whatever your motives or reasons, I owe you a debt."
"Captain, I don't want a reward for..."
"And I was not going to give you one," he interrupted. "You have shown yourself to be a capable and intelligent seaman. San Martín has told me you are interested in navigation and that you have a keen mind. I have reassigned you to the Trinidad. You will be trained in navigation by me."
I was stunned. This was the last thing I had expected. "Captain, I don't know what to say..."
Magellan held up his hand to silence me. "Say nothing. It is not what you should call a reward, for it is very difficult to master the art of Navigation."
I stood. "I will do everything I can not to disappoint you, sir."
Magellan smiled a bit and patted my shoulder. "You should to well. Antonio Pigafetta tells me that you know how to write."
"Yes, Captain, I can write, but I haven't had much opportunity to do so on this voyage."
Magellan walked to a cabinet as I spoke. When he opened it, I saw a number of leather bound volumes. He pulled one from its place and brought it to me. "A good navigator must be able to record his journey so that others may follow in his footsteps," he told me. "Use this book to practice writing."
"What should I write about, Captain?" I asked.
"Anything you like. A history, a journal like your friend Pigafetta. Just fill the book, Mendoza."
And so I arrive where I began, but this isn't the end. At least half the book remains untouched and this journey is not complete. Will we find the long sought passage to the great western sea? And if we do, what new adventures await us there?
Only time will tell.